The Blood Center of Wisconsin
is currently short on supply, having
only enough blood in its inventory to
last for one day.

The Student Involvement and
Employment Office is sponsoring a
blood drive on Sept. 23 and 24 to help
with the lack of blood. They usually
collect 70-85 units of blood, but they
hope to exceed this amount by at least
20 units at the blood drive.

The blood drive will be held
in the Melvin Laird Room of the
Dreyfus University Center from 10
a.m until 3 p.m. Donors should be
in good health, at least 110 lbs, have
photo I.D., and eat a nutritious meal
beforehand.

“I can’t stress that enough,” said
Vicki Bohman, a representative for the
Blood Center of Wisconsin. “Donors
not eating a nutritious meal before
hand is the number one problem we
have.”

Most of the blood drawn at the
blood drive will go to Saint Michael’s
Hospital, after being tested for
diseases such as syphilis and HIV.
The blood is used for things like
trauma victims, cancer patients and​ burn victims.

“Most of the students who donate ​are afraid of needles but they usually
say the little girl who has cancer is
even more afraid of needles,” said
Katie Morici, blood drive coordinator.

The number of donations has
declined since Labor Day weekend
from about 800 donors a day to 500
or 600. With the significant decline in
supply the blood center is asking for
extra donors.

Donors can either make an
appointment or just walk in. 70
percent of donors are walk ins but
making an appointment allows the
donor to get in and out faster.

Donors should expect the whole
process to take about an hour. Donors
must first register, show I.D., take a
brief survey, perform the donation,
then head to recovery. The donation
process alone only takes seven to ten
minutes. After the donation, donors
are sent to the canteen for a few
moments to make sure they do not
have any reactions.

Drawn blood expires after about
41 days, but none of the blood remains
in stock that long due to demand.

“The blood is going out the doors
as fast as I can get it in,” Bohman said.